How to handle the illness?

[Fish]

Hello again everyone,
some of you who know me might remember I have been doing quite well both due to treatments and habituation process. My well-being lasted until today.
Few days ago I have developed a nasty case of flu. I have spent the whole weekend in bed, having fever, coughing and even throwing up twice...
The real problem started few hours ago, my t-worse ear got completely blocked and I hear everything like underwater. There is also some sharp pain whenever I yawn or burp. It feels like there is a lot of air pressure inside trying to rip my eardrum...
Needless to say, my T feels ten times louder in that ear now since nothing can mask it.
I am very careful with all drugs I take (antibiotics are no-no). Out of potentially dangerous drugs I have only taken small amounts of paracetamol.
I would really like to prevent this turning into a horror story (ear infection permanently worsening tinnitus). Do you have any ideas what to do? Any homemade methods to un-clog the ear?

 

[DezDog]

Aghh sorry to hear that Fish, sounds nasty. I wonder if a decongestant might help to break up any mucous and allow it to drain, if it's in the eustacian tube? Does it feel like it's in the ear canal though? As uncomfortable as it is, I think it's all best left to clear up on its own. However, there are drops you can put in your ear (some form of hydrogen peroxide) that break wax down; doctors and nurses will recommend a couple of drops of olive oil to soften any hardened wax before they'll syringe. That's about all I can offer, that and a stupid puppy wearing glasses and a pink collar. Get well soon

DD

 

[Polar-Bear]

Fish how are you feeling today? Has your ear improved at all? I know when I was sick I boiled up some water and got a towel and basically hung my head in there for awhile breathing in the warm vapour and it seemed to help me. I'm sure it could take a couple of days for this to clear up. Also I've been taking something called "grape seed extract" which is a natural anti-inflammatory and suppose to be several times stronger than vitamin C, to ward off any other type of infection. Keep us posted. Get better soon.

 

[Meecat]

Sometimes when I feel congested, I get a small hand towel and run it under the tap with really hot water. Then fold it into a square and put it to your nose and breathe in. The steam sometimes helps loosen up stuff and you can just blow it out afterwards.

 

[erik]

I drink some decaf green tea with honey, lemon, cinnamon and a pinch of cheyenne pepper to clear the sinuses.

 

[click]

Sorry to hear you've caught the dreaded flu Fish.

For the congestion try some extra strong menthol and, if you can face it, some spicy food (like curry) - anything that makes your nose drip will probably help those eustachian tubes.

Get better soon!

 

[Fish]

Thank you everyone for your support!

I did try breathing in the hot vapor and while it did not unclog my ear, it helps a lot to clear my nose

Sadly antibiotic treatment was unavoidable... I did however call my ENT who did the Am-101 treatment and asked what antibiotic would be safe. He told me about amoxicillin so I had something to suggest to my GP.

Also many thanks to Mock Turtle and people who replied in this thread: https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/can-amoxicillin-cause-or-exacerbate-tinnitus.475/

I gotta say I am a mess at the moment. I feel awful and look horrible my eyes became swollen and headache is killing me... I have never been THAT sick before. I want it to go away already!

My ringing ear is 1/3 better I would say. Still louder than normal but now I can hear the T in my other ear back again, haha.

 

[mock turtle]

fish...hang in there...yes i agree with many of the recommendations above especially holding my head over a pot of hot, hot, water with a towel over my head breathing in the water vapor...be very careful, do not do this with water boiling

also i take lots of zinc when i get a viral infection...and the science indicates this is a reasonable thing to do

best wishes for a speedy recovery
mt

 

[Fish]

Ghhhr it doesn't let go

It is either flu infection or a massive cold. I used amoxicillin antibiotic but it didn't help me. I am about to hit the 2-week mark. I've never been this sick before! I no longer have fever but the cough is killing me...

My GP tried to give me ciprofloxacin again (over my dead body!) which was a possible cause of my tinnitus in the first place. After I have explained why I am not going to use it, she got a bit angry and prescribed me "amikacin" antibiotic. I looked it up on wikipedia and it doesn't look very safe either, with hearing loss listed as one of the most common side effects...

Oh boy what to do

 

[mock turtle]

fish...you are right to protect yourself from ototoxic antibiotics

yeah my doc gets real irate when i tel her, hey i looked it up and this drug has the potential to aggravate my tinnitus

besides if what you got is the flu...antibiotics are often not much help

i think your T will decrease as this flu like thing goes away

with hope
mock turtle